BBC Podcasts

Introduction How do you feel about zoos? Some think they are important for education and scientific research; others think they are cruel. Neil and Georgie discuss this and teach you some new vocabulary. This week's question In 2022, five animals escaped from Sydney's Taronga Zoo in Australia, but were the escaped animals: a) elephants, b) lions, or c) zebras? Listen to the programme to hear the answer.

Key words and phrases: blackout a situation where there is no light, often because of a power cut The earthquake caused a complete blackout in the city. woefully extremely badly My teacher said my homework was woefully inadequate. rule out decide someone or something is no longer an option The CEO hasn't ruled out redundancies this year, but we're hoping there won't be any.

The story Authorities in Spain and Portugal are trying to find out what caused a huge power cut in the countries earlier this week. The power cut caused chaos across Portugal and Spain and also affected parts of Andorra and France. Trains didn’t work, businesses had to close and mobile phone networks were also impacted. Power has now been restored, but the disruption is thought to have cost up to €1.6bn to the Spanish economy. News headlines Spain slowly returning to normal after crippling blackout Bloomberg In the Madrid power cuts, I saw patience and common sense – but we were woefully unprepared The Guardian Spain’s electricity grid operator rules out cyber attack as cause of blackout The Financial Times

Key words and phrases: sweltering uncomfortably hot It’s sweltering out here! I really need an iced drink and a room with air conditioning. take the brunt of experience the worst part of something negative The manager took the brunt of the blame when most of her staff left the company. new reality a new and different situation to the past Peace and quiet is my new reality since moving to the countryside.

The story Many European countries are experiencing an extreme heatwave and are on a red heat alert. This means there is a major risk to life and infrastructure. Two people in Italy have died because of the heat, while in Turkey, over 50,000 people have been evacuated because of wildfires. Experts say extreme hot weather, like heatwaves, will happen more often, last for longer and become even more intense as the planet continues to warm. News headlines European heatwave leaves Spain, Portugal, Italy and Greece in sweltering 40C heat Sky News Schools closed and Paris at standstill as France takes brunt of Europe’s heat wave MSN Lethal heat is Europe’s new climate reality Politico

Key words and phrases jabs injections EX: I hate getting jabs – I’m really scared of needles. halve reduce by half EX: The theme park halved its prices for the day to attract more customers. slim down become thinner EX: Dad wants to slim down before our friend's wedding so he can fit into his old suit.

News headlines Weight loss jabs may prevent cancer due to health benefits 'beyond weight loss' Daily Record Weight-loss jabs ‘halve the risk of cancer’ The Telegraph Weight loss jabs could almost halve risk of obesity-related cancers beyond slimming down, study suggests Sky News

Vocabulary trauma the very bad and long-lasting emotional effects of an event or experience struck by interested or impressed by reknit together become closer again resilient able to get better more easily when bad things happen silver lining a positive thing that comes from a negative situation hurdle challenge or difficulty

Introduction How can you protect your mental health from the impacts of climate change? Neil and Beth discuss this and teach you some new vocabulary. This week's question According to research organisation World Weather Attribution, human-caused climate change made the LA wildfires in January 2025: a) 10% more likely b) 35% more likely c) 20% less likely Listen to the programme to hear the answer.

Vocabulary thingy (informal) used if you can't remember someone's or something's name innit (slang) short form of 'isn't it' which can be used at the end of a statement for emphasis insulting rude or offensive well disposed to (someone) like or approve of (someone) make excuses for (someone) explain the reasons for someone else's (negative) behaviour this and that (idiom) various unspecified things